Electric valve



April 15, 1930.

J. J. FAGAN ET AL 1,755,057

ELECTRIC VALVE Filed Sept. 22, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR BY mydmw ATTORNEY April 15, 1930. J. J. FAGAN ET AL 1,755,057

ELECTRIC VALVE Filed Sept. 22, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 zfokzuffizyazv loa a's-flb Vacs INVENTORS' y 5 BY O ATTOR NEY Patented Apr; 15, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN J. FAGAN, OI BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, AND LOUIS KOVACS, OF BROOKLYN,

' NEW YORK ELECTRIC VALVE Application filed September 22, 1928. Serial No. 307,572.

This invention relates to an electrically operated valve, the general objects of the invention being to provide means whereby the valve can be erated from a remote point,

either automatlcally or manually; to provide means for thdcompensation of wear and temperature changes and obviating the danger of the valve falling to Work and also to provide means whereby the valve mechanism can be tested manually without removing any of the parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a contactor circuit breaker so constructed and arranged that fire hazards are practically eliminated. v A further object of the invention' is to so construct and arrange the parts that the current'to the electric operating means maybe controlled either manually, such as by push buttons, or automatically, such as by'thermostatic means. I

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combina tion and-arrangement of the several parts, to

be'hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail,-reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like 'or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a sectional view .Fi re 3. p

igure 2 is a side view with the operating means and the housing therefor removed.

Figure 3 is a side view of the complete device. r Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view through the operating means.

Figure 5 is a view of the bell crank indicator and circuit breaker'ass'embly. 1 Figure 6 is an edge view of said assembly. Figure 7'is a view of one of the solenoids. Figure 8 is a'diagrammatic' view of the'cir- 'cuits.

on line 1-.-1 of In these views, the numeral indicates the valve casing whichhas its ends'threaded, as at 2, for receiving coupling means whereby the casing may be connected to a pipe line and the ends of the casing are beveled, as at 3, to receive, the male ends of union nipples. The casin is formed with a central enlargement 4 w ich provides a circular chamber 5 which is transversely arranged and intersects the bore of the casing. This chamber extends through a side wall of the casing and this part of the chamber is closed by a cover plate 6 which is threaded to the casing. The valve stem 7 passes through a packing gland 8 carried by the cover plate and has its inner end engaging a bearing 9 formed in an internaltwall of the casing. A hub 10 is fastened to t e stem by a pin 11 and carries an arm 12 formed with a projection 13 which fits in an.

opening 14 formed in the valve member 15. A spring plate 16 is placed between the valve member and the arm and has a centrally arranged hole therein through which the projection 13 passes. This spring plate tends to press the valve member'against the seat 17 formed by a portion of the wall of the chamher 5 and if desired, a rim 18 may be placed in the bore of the casing 3 to increase the area ofthe seat.

A pair'of weights 19 is carried by the hub 10, these weights being arranged opposite the arm and acting to counterbalance the arm,

the valve member and the spring. As will be seen, the hub and its arms and weights form a rotor to which the valve member is-movably connected and that. this rotor and the valve member haslimited rotary movement in the chamber 5 The rotor is so formed. that fluid can pass through the same between the weights and pass the arm when the parts are rotated to move the valve member to" open position,

thereby ermittin fluid to flow through the bore of t e casing when the valve member 1s in open position.

A hub 20 is connected with theouter part ,of the stem .by a pin 21 and a double bell crank 22 is formed on the inner end of the hub,'the bell crank having a pro ection 23 at each end thereof and a disk 24 is formed with or fastened to the outer end of the hub.

' This .disk carries indicia- 25 on its outer face for indicating when the valve is open and closed. 1

Two pairs of solenoids 26, 26 and 27, 27 are secured to a base late 28 which is fastened to the casing by t e screws 29, the packing gland passing through a centrally arsembly will be moved to open and closed position by the solenoids.

A contactor circuit breaker 32 is fastened to the'hub 20, said circuit breaker comprising a glass tube containing mercury 33, with a pair of wires 34 and 35 extending into one end of the tube and a pair of wires 36 and 37 extending into the other end of the tube. The tube fits in a groove 38 formed in, the hub and is fastened to the hub by the clamp 39. The wire 34 is connected by a conductor 40 with the solenoid 26, which in turn is connected by a conductor 41 with the solenoid 27 and the. wire 36 at the other end of the tube is connected by a conductor 42 with the solenoid 27 which in turn is connected by a conductor 43 with the-solenoid 26. The wires 35 and 37 are connected by a conductor 44 with a source of supply, the other wire 45 from said source being connected to'a terminal 46 and a fuse 47 is placed in said conductor 45. A conduc-1 tor 48 connects the solenoid 26- with a terminal 49 and aconductor 50 connects the solenoid 27 with a terminal 51.

As will be seen from Figures 3 and 8, when the switch is in closed position, the circuit breaker will be in tilted position so that the mercury will be in the lower'end of the tube and thus bridge the wires 34 and-35 so that when the terminals 46 and 51 are bridged either by a manually operated switch orby an automatic switch, such as a thermostatic one current will flow from the conductor 45 to theaonductor 50 throughthe solenoids 27' fiow irom conductor 45 t and 26 and return through conductor 40, wire 34, the mercury, the wire 35 and conductor'44;

Thus the cores 40 will becaused to move in opposite directions and this movement will be imparted to the bell crank and thereby the A stem and the valve parts will be moved to 0 en position so that fluid can pass through tlib bore of the valve casin As the parts turn, the position of the tn 0 32 is reversed and this reversal causes the mercur to flow to the other end of the tube, thus reak' the circuit between the wires84 and 35 an bridging the wires 36 and 37 so that when the terminals 46 and 49 are bridged, either manually or automatically current willthen hrough conductor 48, solenoids 26 and 27, conductor 42, through wire 36, the mercury and wire 37 to return wire 44 so that the cores 30 will return to their first position and thus move the valve parts to closed position. This movement will cause the mercury in the tube '32 to return to the opposite end of the tube, breaking the circuit'between the wires 36 and 37 and again bridging the wires 34-and 35. The mercury is held a ainst movement by centrifugal force durin t e movement of the parts, but at the endo each movement, the mercury is thrown from-one end of the tube to the other at great speed, due tothe sudden stoppage of the parts. This insures a complete stroke and a quick breaking of the circuit and by having the contacts arranged in a' closed tube, all fire hazards are eliminated. The enclosed contacts in the tube insure perfect, rapid and reliable completion of the electric circuit.

The solenoids and the parts actuated thereby are enclosed in a housing 52 which is attached to the base plate 28 and contains a window 53 for exposing either one of the indicia on the indicating disk 24. This housing also contains an opening 54 which exposes the outer end of the stem 7 which is provided with a kerf 55 so that the parts can be actuated by hand through means of a screw driver or the l'ke. The housing also carries a socket for a plug 56 for connecting the conductors within the housing to those outside of the housing. The parts move through an arc of about during each cycle of movement, and t e means for connectin the bell crank with t e cores of the solenoi 5 reduces friction to a minimum. While the drawings show the pairs of solenoid coils connected in series,

they may be'cross connected in parallel'if more power is desired.

The device may be used on steam or hot water radiators to regulate the temperatures thereof individually. When used on water radiators, small holes should be drilled through the arm 12 and the valve to allow a small circulation of the water when the valve is closed. The device may also be used for irrigation in fields and controlled manually at a central station. It can also be used for sprinkling s stems for fire prevention in factories, an the like When the device is used with a radiator,

and it is desired to automatically control the tem rature of a room in which the radiator is p aced, thermostatic devices or the like are used to bridge the terminals'46, 49 and 51. Thus when the temperature of the room lowera to a redetermined int, the thermostat will bri go the termimfi 146 and 51 so' that the electric means will be caused to move the valve to open position so that hot water or steam will pass through the radiator to furnish inoreheat to the room. When the temperature ofthe room reacheea predetermined degree,; ,.-tlie other thermostatic device will bridge the terminals 46 and 49, thereby causing current to fiow through the electric means and cause such means to move the valve to closed position and thus cut off the heatin medium to the radiator. As before state pushbuttons or other manually operated switches can be usedinstead of static devices.

' Thus it will be seen that we have provided simple means for operating a valve from a distant point either automatically or manually and the parts areso arranged ,and constructed that the consumption of current is small and the current flows for a very short period of time for each cycleiof operation. The use of the spring member between the valve member and its carrying arm compensates for wear and temperature chan es and prevents the valve member from stic ing in operation. The device can also be tested manually without removing the housing, by a screw driver or the like placed in engagement with the kerf 55 in the'ex-posed end of the thermothe valve stem. The valve member may be formed of any suitable material.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts,

',valve stem.

provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is 1. A device of the class described comprisinga valve casing, a rotary valve therein, a

member connected with the valve stem and having a pair of projections thereon, two pairs of solenoids associated with the valve casing, a core passing through each pair and having a, notch therein for receiving a proj ection, a circuit including one solenoid of each pair, a second circuit including the other solenoid of each pair, means for controlling each circuit from a distant point and a circuit breaker for controlling both circuits arranged on the member which 2, A device of the classdescribed comprising a valve casing, a rotary valve therein, a

' member connected with the valve stem and having a pair of projections thereon, two.

pairs of solenoids associated with the valve casing, a core passing througheach pair and having -a notch therein for receiving a pro-- jeption, a circuit including .one solenoid of each pair, a second-circuit including the other solenoid ofeach pair, means for controlling each circuit from a distant point, a circuit breaker for controlling both circuits arranged on the member which is connected with the valve stem,'said circuit breaker comprising-a closed tube of -non-conducting material, containing mercury and a pair of contacts in each is connected with the end of the tube, said contacts being arranged each circuit from a distant point, a circuit breaker for controlling both circuits arranged on the member which is connected with the valve stem, said circuit breaker comprising a closed tube of non-conducting material containing mercury, a pair of contacts in each end of the tube, said contacts being arranged in the circuits and an indicator carried by said member for indicating the open and closed positions of the valve. 7

p 4. A device of the class described comprising a valve casing, a rotary valve therein, a member connected with the valve stem and having a pair of projections thereon, two pairs of solenoids associated'with the valve casing, a core passing through .each pair and having a notch therein for receiving a projection, a circuit including one solenoid of each pair, a second circuit including the other solenoid of each pair, means for controlling each circuit froma distant point, a circuit breaker for controlling both circuits arranged on the member which is connected with the valve stem, said circuit breaker com-- prising a closed tube of non-con ucting mate rial containing mercury, a pair of contacts in each end of the tube, said contacts being arranged in the circuits, an indicator carried said member for indicating the open and b cl bsed positions of the valve and a housing attached to the valve casing and enclosing the solenoids, the valve stem and said member and having a window therein for exposing the indications on the indicator. 5. A device of the class described comprising a valve casing, a rotary valve therein, a member connected with the valve stem and having a pair of projections thereon, two pairs of solenoids associated with the valve casing, a core passing through each pair and having a notch therein for receiving a projection, acircuit including one solenoid of each .pair, a second circuit including the other solenoid of each air, means for controlling each circuit-from a distant point, a.circuit break or for controlling both circuits arranged on the member which is connected with the valve stem, said circuit breaker comprising a closed tube of non-conducting material containing mercury, a pair ofcontacts in each end of the tube, said contacts being arranged in the cir-e cuits, an indicator carried by said member. for

indicating the open and closed positions of the valve, a housing attached to the valve casing and enclosin the solenoids, the valve stem and said mem r and havin a window therein for exposing the indications on the 5 indicator, said housing also havin an opening for exposin the outer end 0 the valve stem, said stem having a kerf' therein for receiving a tool whereby the valve can be turned by hand.

m 6. A device of the class described comprising a valve casing, a valve stem rotatably mounted therein, a rotor within the casing and connected with the stem, said rotor comprising an arm and a counterweight, a valve 15 member carried by the arm, a sprin for v a pressing the valve member to its seat an electric means associated with the stem for moving the parts to open and close the valve.

. A device of the class described compris- Q0 ing a valve casing, a valve stem rotatably mounted "therein, a rotor within the casing and connected with the stem, said rotor comprising an arm and a counterweight, a valve member carried by the arm, a spring for as ressing the valve member to its seat, a mem lier connected with the valve stem and having a pair of oppositely arranged projections thereon, a base connected with the casing, two sets of magnetic means attached to the 80 base and having their cores engaging the projections, a circuit for each set, means for controlling the circuits from a distant point and a circuit breaker carried by the member which is attached to the valve stem for controlling both circuits by the movement of the parts.

In testimony whereof we'aflix our signatures.

JOHN J. FAGAN. LOUIS KOVACS. 

